House Republicans "did not properly do [their] work" on a measure tied to former special counsel Jack Smith's seizure of lawmakers' phone records, before the Senate unanimously approved the provision that was tucked into the Senate's short-term funding bill, Rep. Pete Sessions told Newsmax on Thursday.
"The House did not properly do its work by completing and having a bill that would be available," the Texas Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Early," adding that Democrats had brought legislation to the Rules Committee nine times while Republicans failed to provide "better context" for how they intended to handle Justice Department files.
His comments come after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., strongly defended the provision, which would allow senators to seek up to $500,000 in damages from the Justice Department if their communications or activities were secretly surveilled during the "Arctic Frost" investigation.
Thune said "Jack Smith violated the law" and argued there is intense interest in confronting what he called the "weaponization" of the Biden Justice Department.
House Republicans, including Texas Rep. Chip Roy, have called the measure "self-serving" and vowed to strip it out before any House vote.
When asked whether he was surprised by the Senate's unanimous action, Sessions said the real issue lies in the House's preparation.
Sessions said that because the legislation lacked clear instructions for how the House envisioned the process, the Senate acted quickly to avoid weeks of debate under its cloture rules.
"We did not put that into a piece of legislation outlining what we intend to do," he said. "So they simply took it, unanimously passed it, and the president signed it."
Sessions also addressed the redistricting fight in Texas after a federal panel temporarily blocked a map that could give Republicans up to five additional House seats.
He predicted Gov. Greg Abbott would appeal directly to the Supreme Court.
"Political is fine, but not racial gerrymandering," he said, adding that the justices have long shaped the legal boundaries in redistricting cases.
The congressman also discussed on Thursday his proposed District of Columbia Judicial Nominations Reform Act, which dissolves the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and shifts more authority for local judges to the president and the Senate.
He argued the district faces a significant judicial shortage and needs "credible judges that can pass scrutiny."
"Whether it's Donald Trump or whether it's some other president," Sessions said, Washington "will be in much better stead."
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